Snow Days
by Tears of a Spirit
Summary: Even though they were few and far between, there was just something special about snow days to Eren and Mikasa. Maybe it was the chilly sting of the cold that drew out the warmth that brought the two closer together. But either way, the two had always loved these rare days of happiness. [Eren/Mikasa]


Snow Day

By: Tears of a Spirit

A/N: Consider this little happiness filled piece to be my Christmas present to all of you. And if you know me or you know what kind of stuff I tend write, this will come as a surprise. After all, there is a reason my pen name is what it is. So... I hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

Eren blearily opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the window and a chilly breeze made the shades flap. Birds chirped and a faint smell of cooking slowly drew him out of his half-awake-but-mostly-asleep stupor. But being the lazy child that he was, he rolled over on his bed and tried to go back to sleep. But as he tried to get comfortable, his nose bumped against something soft. He opened his eyes to find his nose buried in Mikasa's hair. With a yelp he scooted backwards and nearly fell off the bed, waking the sleeping girl. The last time he found his nose buried in her hair, it ended with several accidental smacks to face from the startled girl and Eren had no desire to repeat the incident.

As he lay there rubbing his head, Mikasa's smiling face peered over the side of the bed. The red scarf dangled down and bushed the tip of Eren's nose.

"What are you doing down there?" she asked.

"I fell off."

"Why'd you do that? You big dummy…"

Eren indignantly shot to his feet. "I'm not a dummy!"

Mikasa cocked her head to the side, still smiling. "Yeah you are. You fell off the bed. Now come here." She patted the space next to her.

Eren grumbled and sat down. She got up into a kneeling position and took his head in her hands. Mikasa felt around on the back of his head until she poked at a particularly tender area. Eren hissed in pain.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, rubbing at the spot.

Eren just grumbled half-heartedly and attempted to bat away her hands.

As they nearly toppled to the floor again, Carla Yeager's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Eren! Mikasa! Food is ready!"

Eren shot to his feet. "Coming, Mom!"

He was halfway towards the door when he noticed that Mikasa wasn't following. Confused, he looked back. She was staring out the window with something like awe.

"Come on, Mika! The food's going to get cold!"

"Eren?" Mikasa called softly.

"Yeah?"

"What is that stuff? It's everywhere."

Eren jumped back on to the bed and peered out of the window at what she was looking at. Then his face broke out into a huge grin.

"SNOW! That's one of the things in Armin's book, remember? W-What's it doing here?!"

Eren grabbed Mikasa's hand and pulled her out of bed, dragging her down the stairs and nearly hurtling out the door. They would have made it if they hadn't run headlong into Grisha Yeager.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you two going?" he asked.

"There's snow outside!" Eren exclaimed.

Grisha laughed. "I remember the stories my grandfather used to tell me about snow. You could find it in the mountains. And it's very cold. Go eat your breakfast first and then you can go outside and play."

Eren nodded enthusiastically. He pulled Mikasa along behind him to sit at the dining table. Carla put two plates in front of the children and loaded it with fruits and steaming bacon and scrambled eggs.

"Thank you, Mom." Mikasa said, slicing her bacon with a fork and putting it in her mouth.

Eren was the exact opposite. He shoveled half of his eggs into his mouth and was trying to stuff another piece of bacon in.

Eren incoherently spluttered his thanks, making Mikasa and Carla turn away before they got sprayed with food. Grisha sat down at the table and Carla set a bowl of oatmeal in front of him. He nodded his thanks and turned to look sternly at Eren.

"Eren! What did I say about talking with your mouth full?"

Eren forced down at a massive swallow. "Sorry Dad. Thanks Mom!" he said again, thankfully with no food in his mouth.

Carla smiled at her son and kissed the top of his head, and went to wipe the dishes.

Eren neatly gulped down the rest of his food into his mouth and wiped the corners of his lips. He bolted off in the direction of the door and stopped when he heard his name being called.

He ran back to the dining room and skidded to a halt. Carla shook her head mirthfully. She held out a dark green scarf and a matching woolen hat and he eagerly jammed the hat onto his head and messily wrapped the scarf around his neck. Mikasa giggled from the table at Eren's unkempt appearance.

After Mikasa finished her breakfast, Eren grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out the door. Carla and Grisha Yeager looked on with amused smiles as the two children rushed outside to play with the snow.

The edges of Carla's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Ah… young love. And they don't even know it."

Grisha gave a snort of laughter. "They're too young to know anything of love." He looked at the children laughing and playing outside. "But I suppose that's where they get their innocence."

Carla lightly slapped her husband on the shoulder. "Be quiet. We were once like that if I recall correctly."

The doctor just nodded and put another spoon of his oatmeal in his mouth and turned the page of his newspaper.

Carla smiled wistfully again. "I just hope that they give me lots of grandchildren."

Grisha spat out his spoon and oatmeal at that and Carla patted his back, all the while laughing light-heartedly.

* * *

"Eren! Mikasa!" a voice called. A boy with chin length blonde hair waved to the two. Eren waved back. On his head was a rumpled blue woolen hat.

"Hey Armin!" Eren called.

Armin jogged over two his two friends. "Look at all of this snow! I can't believe we're actually getting some inside the walls! I'll come and play later!"

He ran off to talk to his grandfather, presumably to ask for stories about the outside and before the walls. The old man waved to Eren and Mikasa, and both of them eagerly waved back.

Eren tugged at her hand. "Come on, Mika. We have a lot of stuff to do!"

The two of them ran to the little pasture where they always gathered firewood. A layer of white covered everything. Surprisingly, there were few people there. Just a few people looking up at the falling flakes of snow in awe. A few children were also running around laughing and throwing snowballs at each other. That gave the mischievous mind of a certain boy an idea.

Eren quickly scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at Mikasa. She looked up, startled.

"H-Hey!"

Eren just laughed and threw more snow. The fine white powder sprinkled down on Mikasa's hair and shoulders. He thought she looked rather cute with all that snow covering her and he felt an urge to hug her, and maybe bury his face in her hair. The feeling left nearly as soon as it came, leaving him wondering if he was sick.

"Stop! It's cold!"

Eren grinned and took off running and Mikasa raced after him screaming bloody murder. They raced through the field until Eren tripped on a hidden tree branch and fell face first into the snow. He looked up from his position on the ground and spat out a mouthful of snow. Mikasa's face looked down at him with a small smile.

"You deserved that." A simple statement. Delivered in blunt Mikasa form.

Eren groaned. "I think I did."

He rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes. Such a peaceful day. The birds were chirping and a fresh blanket of snow covered the ground. After a moment or two, Eren felt Mikasa lie down next to him. Cracking open an eye, he saw her smiling serenely.

A thought ran through Eren's head, unbidden and entirely unfamiliar.

_She looks nice when she smiles._

The urge from earlier came back, and this time, Eren just reached out a hand and covered Mikasa's hand in his own. Her smile grew slightly bigger and the two just lay there, enjoying a rare moment of peace in their hectic lives.

**-6 Years Later-**

Eren and his squad hurtled through the Forest of Giant trees, intent on killing a group of Titans that had somehow managed to escape detection. For some unknown reason, they were content to ignore the soldiers trailing them and continued to trundle towards the main body of troops. Mikasa was trailing not far behind him. The rest of the squad followed not far behind.

Eren eyed the lead Titan and fired off a grappling hook into its shoulder, and positioned his blades so he wouldn't chop himself to tiny pieces as he went in for the kill.

He fired off his gas canisters and felt the wind rip through his hair as he plunged down. Eren smirked.

_Gotcha._

If only things were that easy.

One of the Titans decided to break off of their little group and charged straight into Eren's wire, causing him to go into an uncontrolled downwards spiral.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted.

All of a sudden, he was harshly tackled in midair and landed hard on the ground. The force jarred his barbs loose of the Titan's flesh.

The squad could only watch as the Titan's continued to lumber down the path.

Eren rounded on the black haired girl. "Why the hell did you do that?! I had it!"

Mikasa landed lightly on her feet, as always. "You had it? You were about to be killed, smashed against a tree or something."

"I wouldn't have gotten killed!"

Mikasa calmly stowed her blades. "Yes, you would have. What would you have done?"

Eren gesticulated wildly. "I would have thought of something!"

"So you would have me watch you plummet to your death while you 'thought of something'."

Eren scowled. "I don't know! I just don't need you to constantly fuss over me all the time! I'm not weak and I'm not a baby!"

The rest of the squad landed behind the two and Eren glared at Mikasa one last time before thrusting his hand into his cloak pocket and pulling out the black flare. The squad watched it fly into the air and saw another one fire off a ways into the forest.

"Come on. Let's get back." Eren spat angrily.

* * *

"Eren. Do you want something to eat?" Mikasa asked.

There was no response from the still form that sat on an old worn tree stump.

Mikasa stood at the edge of a clearing in the small forest they were camped near. She fidgeted nervously with the edge of her scarf. Eren hadn't come to eat since they got back from the expedition hours ago. She was getting worried.

"Eren, come on. I brought you some food."

Eren turned around sharply. "I'm not hungry."

Mikasa sighed. "You have to eat to keep your strength up."

Eren's scowl deepened. "I'm not weak. I don't need you to fuss over me all the time!"

She took an involuntary step back. "I'm not trying to fuss over you."

He put his head in his hands and pulled at his hair in frustration. "But you are! You are always so smothering! You treat me like a little kid, like I'm the one that needs protecting! I'm all grown now! I can take care of myself!"

With that, he stormed off, leaving Mikasa alone in the clearing with a rapidly cooling plate of food. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes and she furiously wiped at them. Eren never did realize how deep his words bit. But she had to look tough for the squad, even if she was falling apart inside.

* * *

Mikasa sat in the mess hall idly twirling her pen in her hand and looking over the notes they had gone over in class earlier. After a bit, she realized she had been reading the same lines over and over again. Mikasa rubbed her temples. Eren had been avoiding her for days. He was constantly finding other things to do and other places to be and all the while, she felt like she was being broken apart more and more. A loud ring, signaling sparring practice, shook her from her reverie. She looked across the room for her usual sparring partner, Sasha. She smiled and nodded.

Moments after they arrived on the field, the familiar sounds of sparring rang through the air. The two of them traded blows for a couple minutes and then decided they should work with armed attackers. As Mikasa assumed a ready position and prepared for Sasha to charge. When Sasha eventually did and she sprang forward to intercept, she saw Eren and Annie sparring off to the side. And he looked… _happy_.

With an unfamiliar emotion filling up the pit of her stomach, Mikasa moved with an unmatched precision and threw the attacking Sasha over her shoulder. Hard.

Sasha lay on the ground moaning. "God. That _hurt_. Were you trying to kill me or something?!"

Mikasa shook her head. "I'm sorry about that."

Sasha shook her head. "Don't be. This is all about training, right?"

"Yeah. I guess."

But what Sasha said next caught the supposedly unflappable Asian completely off guard.

"And Eren."

Mikasa spun around, a blush rising to color her cheeks. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

The potato loving girl just stood there; hand on her hips and a smirk on her face. "Don't lie. I've seen the way you look at him. He means more to you than the entire world, doesn't he?"

Mikasa pulled up the scarf a bit more to try to hide her blush. "Of course. He's my brother."

"Don't give me that. We both know that's not true. Well, most of it. You two are obviously not blood related. Something had to have happened that you ended up living with Eren."

Damn. She was more perceptive that people give her credit for.

"If I were you, I'd go after him. Get to the bottom of whatever's been driving you two apart. Best to fix it now, than to let it drive a deeper wedge between the two of you."

The bell rung, signaling lunch. Before Mikasa could even blink, Sasha was already shoving her way into the mess hall.

* * *

Mikasa steeled herself and took a deep breath. She slowly opened the door to the men's barracks. She poked her head inside and nearly sighed in relief when Eren was the only one inside.

"Eren?" She tentatively called.

Eren's head shot up. "Huh? What is it?"

Mikasa opened the door wider. "Can we talk? Someplace else?"

He just shrugged and got up out of his bunk and walked out the door. Mikasa followed. He led them to the clearing in the forest where they had that little spat not long ago.

Eren folded his arms. "So. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Mikasa sat down on the stump and rested her hands on her knees.

"What am I doing wrong, Eren? You always yell at me. I'm not even sure what I'm doing to make you mad."

He sat down next to her and sighed. "It's not something that you're doing."

She turned to look at him. "If it isn't then why are you always so mad? Come on. You have to tell me. I can't stand it when you're mad at me."

Eren exploded. "You want to know why? I've got a question myself! Why do you have to be so good at everything?! I can't stand it! You're always taking care of me and protecting me like I'm some kind of little kid!

Mikasa opened her mouth to apologize but what he said next stopped her in her tracks.

"And that's what scares me the most."

Mikasa slowly reached out and took his hand, certain that he was going to pull back like he had done so many times. She nearly sighed with relief when he didn't respond.

"It's not that I'm mad. I'm just frustrated. At myself. You're always too good for me. Always up ahead and throwing yourself into danger for my sake. It scares me … that what if one day, you overestimate yourself and you end up dead because of me? That's what I can't stand. I don't want you to die."

She just sat there listening to Eren. "When I first found you, I thought I would do anything to keep you safe. You just looked so… vulnerable."

He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more. "And then there was that time I broke my wrist punching those two assholes for making some derogatory comment about you. When I was thrown around, you handled them just fine. That's when it hit me for the first time that maybe it was _you_ who didn't _me_. And it always made me mad that I wasn't the one to protect you. That's what I wanted most. To protect you."

Mikasa just sat there, a faint smile gracing her lips. "I've always felt the same. That's why I do it. I want to keep you safe."

He just shook his head. "It's not right. _I'm_ supposed to be the one that protects _you_."

She squeezed his hand. "You always are. If you weren't there to save me that day, I doubt that I'd even be here right now. "

He just gave a snort. "Fine. I'll make you a promise. I'll always be by your side, and in turn, you'll stay by mine."

Mikasa laughed and rested her head on his shoulders. "Promise."

Eren just wrapped his arms around her shoulders and drew her closer. Mikasa looked up and found that Eren was looking down at her with an expression pure adoration. An expression she knew was mirrored on her own face. She smiled internally. It had been far too long since she had last seen this side of him. She lay her head back down on his chest, listening to the constant beat of his heart.

They sat there just enjoying each other's company. Eren looked up after a little while and saw little pellets of white beginning to drift down from the clouds. Mikasa, feeling his sudden movements looked up too.

As the little snowflakes landed on Mikasa's head, Eren just laughed and picked them off.

"Remember that day back home, when we had snow for the first time?" Eren asked.

Mikasa smiled. "Of course I do. That was the day you fell off the bed and nearly cracked your head open."

Eren waved it off. "Whatever. You surprised me."

Mikasa leaned into him again. "Isn't this much better than constantly arguing with each other? _This_ is the way it should be. We should be taking care of each other. Just like when we were kids."

Eren nodded. "I guess I just needed that. C'mon. Let's go back."

Eren got up and Mikasa found herself missing the contact almost immediately. But as they started walking, Eren hooked his fingers around hers and gave a gentle tug. Mikasa felt a blush rising to color her cheeks.

He looked back at her and grinned. "I wonder to see what all this snow does to Shadis's temper."

* * *

All of the recruits were wandering around, looking up at the sky and flinging snow at each other. Laughing and shouting permeated the air. Even Shadis lost that ever-present frown and a slight smirk took its place.

In other words, it was a flashback to happier and more peaceful times.

Jean stood under an awning watching a certain couple laughing, holding hands, and generally having a good time. As he continued to watch, he couldn't help but feel as if he should be with Mikasa instead of that suicidal bastard. But now, he could only cringe in pain as his heart shatters even more as Eren pulls Mikasa in for a hug.

As Connie ran by, intent on murdering Sasha for stuffing a bowl full of snow down his jacket, Jean reached out and swiped his hand across the shorter trainee's back.

Connie came to an abrupt stop and tries to twist around to look at the back of his shirt.

"What the hell did you wipe on me this time?!'

Jean only scowls at Eren as he picks Mikasa up and spins her around. The sound of their laughter rings like a bell.

"The rest of my faith in humanity." He said sullenly and slunk back into the barracks.

Connie watched as Jean closed the door and scratched his head in confusion. Oh well. He'll worry about that later.

"_Maybe I can ambush Sasha from the roof…"_ he thought as he ran off to try to find the potato obsessed girl.


End file.
